Iranian health officials have begun slaughtering thousands of birds along the country's border with Turkey, in an attempt to prevent the spread of avian flu.
The move reported Saturday comes as the disease continues to spread in Turkey. Three children died of bird flu there last week, and 15 more people have been diagnosed with the disease.
In Ankara, government ministers and representatives of the poultry industry are discussing how to minimize the economic effects of the bird flu outbreak.
Industry experts say poultry sales in the country have dropped by 70 percent since the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was reported in humans in Turkey late last month - the first bird flu deaths outside Asia.
Meanwhile, Belgian health officials said a Russian journalist hospitalized in Brussels for suspected bird flu has been tested and shows no sign of the disease.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.